Trade Mistakes
by BandsAnime
Summary: AU in which Eto realises she can torture Takizawa psychologically a bit more and regrets it within less than 24 hours. Warnings for MA rated content in later chapters. I don't own Tokyo Ghoul. Title is barely relevant.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: ALL OF MY WORKS ARE MERELY FANFICTION WHICH IS A FORM OF CREATIVE WRITING AND ARE ALWAYS SOME PERCENT OF AU.**

Eto hummed as she dragged the unconscious man along behind her. It was a good morning, in her opinion, but it was about to be wonderful. Inspiration had struck her in the wee hours of the morning when she'd awoken and she wasn't letting go.

She'd been struggling to find ways to further psychologically torture Takizawa for weeks. After all, how did you one up feeding someone their parents? There wasn't much that could trump that. Nothing she found conceivable anyway. At least, until earlier this morning. It had suddenly occurred to her that there was one thing her favourite little pet loved more in the world than his dear, dead parents even if he didn't realise it.

Kousuke Houji had not been easy to capture alive and, mostly, unharmed. Sure, she'd broken into his place undetected but the moment she'd tried grabbing him, he'd woken up and the next thing she'd known there was a knife in her eye. She hadn't thought it would be easy but she hadn't expected him to wake up so easily. Arima would probably give her a stern talking to for this and Tatara would likely go off his rocker at her but it was a price she was willing to pay to see the look on Takizawa's face once he realised who he'd eaten.

Cameras were so beneficial.

"Ahh, we're here." Eto muttered.

She kicked the unconscious man, hoping he'd wake up. She wanted to see a bloody fight so much she wasn't going to dare stay in the cell in case her presence interrupted it. It was lucky it was pretty late at night too.

Houji groaned.

"Awake yet, Houji?" She grinned.

To her surprise, Houji managed to glare at her despite being held by the hair.

"So rebellious." She cooed. "I can see where Owl got it from."  
"… What?" Houji asked.  
"I do hope this breaks him completely." She continued on like she hadn't heard him. "I've been looking forward to taking all those little pieces and stitching them back together all wrong. Feeding him his parents wasn't enough, apparently. He'll no doubt be hungry, what with all the healing he has to do."

Oh, how she was enjoying the confused look on his face.

"Although, Tata-chan will certainly be angry." She unlocked the door. "He was hoping to kill you himself. Oh well. I suppose I should actually tell you what's going on, eh?"

He didn't reply, much to her dismay. A pity – she was hoping he'd be more talkative.

"I'm going to feed you to T-Owl." She told him gleefully. "Once he realises what he's done, he'll be worse than after I fed him his parents. After all, how could he eat the person who considered him worth something?"

Opening the door, she quickly threw him inside then slammed the door shut.

"Enjoy, Owl." She giggled, locking them in there.

Houji sighed upon hearing the door lock. This was in no way good. Who even was this so-called pet? Although, considering that woman's words, it was someone he knew. He was fairly sure he didn't know anyone like she'd described though. No one who was alive, or a Ghoul, anyway.

Shaking his head, he looked around the cell or at least tried to. It was pitch black and he could smell copper quite strongly, indicating blood. Whether it was fresh or not was another thing entirely. Putting a hand to the wall, he started forward, wanting to gauge the size of the cell if he could.

The wall was brick, strangely enough. Any normal Ghoul would have been able to break their way out. Perhaps this "T-Owl" wasn't normal. Maybe he had an inactive kagune or was another of Kanou's experiments much like the Eyepatch.

A crunching sound filled the cell and he paused. What the hell had he just stepped on? Probably a bone, most likely. It would match the too strong scent of blood. He heard the noise again and tensed, waiting.

Houji moved out of the way just as a body hit the wall. Hands made a grab for him but he refused to let them get a hold, now glad he wasn't wearing much – stupid woman and her apparent need to kidnap him in his sleep.

T-Owl jumped on him and tackled him down, breathing heavily. A warm, wet tongue licked his face, making him recoil.

"Tasty." The Ghoul cooed.

Houji's eyes widened. He… He knew that voice. Surely it wasn't possible. Surely –

"I wonder what I should eat first." T-Owl mused.  
He swallowed. "Takizawa-kun?"

He felt his former subordinate stiffen, his hands tightening on his shoulders almost painfully. Houji wasn't sure how to feel. Takizawa was a Ghoul. More importantly, Takizawa was alive.

A groan escaped Takizawa. "Awww, I can't eat my hallucinations. You tasted so real."  
"What?" Houji asked dumbly as Takizawa got off him.  
"I would've thought a hallucination would know that it's a hallucination." Takizawa answered.  
"I'm not a hallucination." He said.  
"Sure you are." Takizawa replied. "The real Houji would never actually be here. Tatara would have a fit. Besides, I've hallucinated you before and I can hallucinate you again."  
"I'm really not a figment of your imagination." He tried.  
"Prove it." Takizawa challenged.  
Houji frowned. "How am I supposed to prove it?"  
"I dunno. Tell me something only you would know – like what you ate last." The brunet said.  
"… McDonald's." He confessed. "Is that good enough?"  
"Sure." Takizawa replied.  
His mood lifted a little. "Really?"  
Takizawa started laughing. "No. The real Houji would never touch McDonald's – not even with a pole."

Fuck.

"I am real." He insisted anyway. "Just because I've made some poor choices lately doesn't make me any less real."  
"Wow, you're actually really convincing." Takizawa said. "I must be crazier than I thought since you're so vivid."

He sat up, shocked. What the hell was it gonna take to convince him he was real?!

"Houji, is that you?" A voice asked.  
"Amon?" Houji replied, surprised. "You're alive too? Where are you?"  
"The cell to your left." Amon told him. "And yeah, I'm alive. Regrettably."  
"Amon!" Takizawa exclaimed. "Come to join me in crazy town? Pretty weird we're having the same hallucination, huh?!"  
"He's not a hallucination." Amon replied.  
"I'm pretty sure he is." Takizawa responded.  
"He's not, I swear." Amon said.

Houji sighed. What the hell was even going on anymore?

"Shut the fuck up!" Takizawa exclaimed, sounding pissed. "You think lying to me is making this any better?! At this point, I know you're saying anything you can think of to stop me from going crazy. But oh, would you look at that? I already am!"

Houji heard Amon sigh deeply.

"Seidou, I don't think you can physically interact with hal-" His former colleague started.  
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO WITH MY HALLUCINATIONS!" His former subordinate screamed suddenly.

Takizawa was on him again suddenly.

"For instance, I'm pretty sure I could suck his dick if I so chose to." The brunet continued, clearly annoyed. "I'm pretty sure I could rip out his intestines and use them to decorate and he'd still be okay."  
"Please don't." Houji said.  
"I'm not going to though because this hallucination actually seems friendly." Takizawa continued like he hadn't heard him.  
"You're insane." Amon decided.  
"Oooh, give the man a gold star! He finally figured out what I've been trying to tell him for months!" Takizawa exclaimed, the sarcasm just dripping off his voice.  
"How do you even know it's been months?" Amon questioned. "I don't even know how long it's been."  
"It's been nearly a year and half since the Anteiku Raid." Houji told him helpfully.  
"Is that evidence enough that he's not a hallucination?" Amon asked.  
"Nope! He could be making it up for all I know." Takizawa answered.  
"Amon's right, Ta-" Houji started.  
"Shhh." Takizawa covered his mouth. "Hallucinations don't know if they're real or not."  
"Would you just think rationally for five seconds?!" Amon snapped.

Takizawa started laughing hysterically, his hand leaving his mouth.

"What the hell happened to him?" Houji finally asked.  
"I don't know where to start." Amon confessed. "He –"  
"La, la, la, la, la, la…" Takizawa started loudly, repeating it like a mantra.

Houji sighed. Great. Takizawa quietened down eventually, thankfully, but their conversation didn't start back up. The half-Ghoul didn't move from his lap either, clearly content to stay there despite him apparently being a hallucination.

It wasn't until what felt like hours later that Takizawa spoke again.

"You know, I do have to wonder how tasty you are." Takizawa said. "Even if you are a hallucination. I mean, you smell good for one."  
"Takizawa, for the last time, I am not a hallucination." Houji replied. "I am very much real."  
He felt Takizawa smile against his chest. "I mean, if you think you're real then good for you. It's important to value yourself."

Suddenly, the half-Ghoul left his lap.

"Where are you going?" He asked.  
"Even if you are a hallucination, you don't deserve to be stuck in here with how nice you are." The brunet answered.

Takizawa yanked him away from the wall suddenly and the next thing he heard was a loud crashing sound. There was some dust but then there was a dark view to the outside world.

"Oooh." Takizawa said. "I haven't been outside in ages!"

Of all the times the moon wasn't out. He would've liked to be able to see Takizawa.

The half-Ghoul turned to him. "Get up, Hallucination Houji! We're going for a walk!"  
"What about Amon?" He asked.  
Takizawa just blinked. "What do you mean? I'm coming back once I've gotten rid of you."  
"How fucking dumb are you?!" Amon exclaimed.  
"Please help him too." Houji said, fighting off a sigh.  
Takizawa pouted. "Fine."

A quick wall destruction later and Amon was with them in the flesh.

"How did you end up here anyway?" Amon asked.  
Houji stood. "I went to bed and woke up with some woman trying to pick me up. I managed to hurt her a few times but that was clearly ineffective. Next thing I know I'm waking up in a hallway and getting told I'm food."

Amon nodded. Takizawa grabbed him suddenly and started tugging him along.

"C'mon." The brunet said. "Before somebody comes to investigate all the noise."

Houji sighed, a little exasperated, but followed along anyway. Takizawa would likely have more of an idea where to go given that he could sniff his way to freedom.

"And to think my first night of freedom in over a year would be so bloody dark." Amon muttered behind him.

It wasn't long before they were moving through trees rather easily. Houji wasn't sure if Takizawa could actually see or if his sense of smell was just that good. Either way, he was glad this was going rather smoothly. The sooner they got away, the better. It meant he could start genuinely freaking out over Takizawa being alive.

They were crossing what felt like a road after some time but Houji could tell it was most likely a bridge judging by the smell of salt water. It was an old bridge by the feel of it too.

"This is eventful." Amon said.  
"It's probably a good thing no one noticed." Houji replied. "We might not have made it this far otherwise."  
"It's still surprising." Amon pointed out.  
"It is." He agreed.

It was very surprising. He would have thought that Aogiri would have kept a closer eye on Kanou's… experiments. It was weird to think about them that way. Amon and Takizawa were, no doubt, just that. They wouldn't be alive otherwise.

Buildings began to surround them which was a good sign and, within a few minutes of walking, they came across a well lit street.

Houji stared. "Takizawa, you're covered in blood."

The half-Ghoul really was. Dried blood caked his clothes and skin and his hair was practically dyed in it. It actually made him feel a bit sick.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. It's mostly my own." Takizawa laughed.

The half-Ghoul paused suddenly and he could tell that he was thinking. Maybe that was the kick he'd needed.

Takizawa spun around almost violently. "You – You're real!"  
"I am indeed." He confirmed.  
"Finally." Amon muttered.

Houji quickly steadied himself, surprised at the amount of push Takizawa had just from rushing to hug him like that, then wrapped his arms around him.

"Well, now that we've established that Houji is indeed real, what the fuck are we going to do now?" Amon asked.  
"Well, we can find some dropped coins and call the CCG's number." Houji answered. "It'll be easy from there."  
"We can't call the CCG." Amon replied.  
"Why not?" Houji questioned.  
"We're Ghouls." Takizawa said, voice muffled.  
"Who were Investigators." Houji replied. "Besides, if they can okay Arima's little pet project, I'm sure you two will be fine."  
"Pet project?" Amon frowned.  
"Haise Sasaki." Houji said. "Well, the Eyepatch. It turned out he was human but Kanou turned him into a Ghoul. Now he's on the path to become an Investigator thanks to Arima. Akira's not happy."

He was surprised to see how troubled Amon looked at that.

"What?" He asked.  
"Eyepatch wasn't trying to kill me." Amon answered. "I'm pretty sure it was a mistake that he lopped my arm off. Yeah, he meant to break my quinque but he wasn't trying to kill me. Just put me out of action."  
Houji noticed the state of Amon's arm. "It hasn't healed properly."  
"It likely never will." Amon sighed. "Anyway, it's safe to call the CCG?"  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
Takizawa let go of him. "While you two do that, I'm just gonna leave."  
"You're not leaving." Houji frowned. "I'm not letting you."

To his surprise, Takizawa just stared at him.

"In any case, where are your clothes?" Amon asked.  
"Clothes?" Houji questioned. "I'm wearing what I usually do to bed – underwear."  
"How are you not cold?" Amon stared.  
"To be honest, I'm a bit inebriated right now." Houji confessed.  
"Inebriated?" Amon frowned.  
He got moving. "Drunk. I'm a bit drunk. I drank a lot last night. I'm honestly surprised I woke up to even realise someone was kidnapping me."  
"Fuck, you sound old." The man muttered.  
"I'm only thirty-five." He replied, stooping down to pick up a coin. "Perfect. Now we just need to find a payphone."  
"How does calling the CCG help us in the slightest?" Takizawa asked.  
"So we know what ward we're in." Houji explained. "From there I can take you two to the ward's office and we can get things sorted out."

Takizawa just nodded. They soon stumbled across a payphone and Houji quickly got to calling the main number.

"Hello, this is the CCG, how may we be of assistance?" A woman's voice asked.  
"What ward is this?" He inquired.  
"Uh, it's the Eighth Ward." The woman told him, sounding confused.  
"Thank you for your help." He said.  
"Sir, do you have an incident to report?" She asked.  
"Yes and no." He answered. "I'll be at your office soon. Thank you again."

He hung up the phone and turned to Amon and Takizawa.

"We're in the Eighth Ward." He told them. "It shouldn't be too hard to get to the office."  
"Houji, you're not wearing any clothes." Amon reminded him.  
"And Takizawa's covered in blood. I can just call someone when we get there." Houji replied, unbothered. "Now let's go."

It was a surprisingly quick walk to the office in the ward, thankfully enough.

"The RC Detectors are going to go ballistic." Takizawa muttered.  
"They won't." Houji told him. "It seems as though humans turned Ghouls can pass through them just fine. Haise has no issues."  
"Well, I guess that's a good thing." Amon said.

They went in, heading straight to the desk. The tired receptionist was staring at them in shock and alarm.

"Good evening." He greeted her warmly. "I'm Investigator Houji and I need to report something. Oh, and can I borrow your phone?"


	2. Chapter 2

Thankfully, it had been easy to get her to let him call a few people. Unfortunately, they had to wait around for someone like Yoshitoki to get here. Houji had made sure to be as vague as possible when calling Akira – he didn't want to risk her driving dangerously if he told her what had happened. Take, and Kishou by accidental extension, had been free game to inform to his relief.

He still hadn't had an outward breakdown over Takizawa being alive. Maybe it was the alcohol.

Takizawa groaned. "How long is this gonna take?"  
"Don't be so impatient." Amon scolded.  
"We just have to wait for a few people to get here so we can sort this out. Take's bringing some clothes for us both so you'll be able to clean up." Houji told him.  
"Is there a coffee machine around here?" The half-Ghoul asked.  
The receptionist swallowed. "N-No."

Houji was surprised to hear a long, drawn out curse come out of Takizawa's mouth. Sure, he'd sworn earlier but the brunet seemed rather lucid now.

Houji stared. "Takizawa, what are you doing?"  
Takizawa barely paused in his finger chewing. "My stomach is making the rumblies –"  
"Seidou." Amon interrupted.  
"- that only hands will satisfy." Takizawa finished, already down a few fingers.

Amon face palmed.

"Are they Ghouls?" The receptionist asked.  
"Yes and no." Houji answered. "Takizawa, stop eating your fingers."  
"Who else am I supposed to eat?" Takizawa asked. "You? The receptionist who smells absolutely delicious?"

Houji sighed as the receptionist got up and left.

"You know, I really didn't believe you when you said you were nearly naked." A familiar voice said.

Turning, he felt relieved upon seeing Take and Kishou.

"I am full of surprises." Houji replied. "I'm drunk."  
Kishou swatted him on the head. "Stop drinking. It's bad for your liver."  
Take handed him his clothes. "Put some clothes on."  
"Yes sir." He said sarcastically.

He started separating the clothes and tossed Takizawa the second set.

"Go take a shower and change." He said.

The half-Ghoul shrugged and walked off.

"This is an interesting development." Kishou remarked suddenly.  
"So, who else is coming?" Take asked.  
"Yoshitoki probably." Houji answered. "Akira."  
"You called Akira?" Amon questioned, alarmed.  
"I didn't tell her what was up." He started to dress. "Just that she needed to get here quickly."  
"It's five in the morning." Take told him.  
"Your point?" He asked.  
"She would've been sleeping." Kishou said.  
"And what do you think I was trying to do before some Ghoul broke into my apartment and kidnapped me so she could feed me to Takizawa?" Houji questioned.

His friend didn't respond. It was far too early to argue anyway.

"Where's the receptionist?" Take asked.  
"Oh, uh, Seidou scared her." Amon answered.

Akira walked in suddenly, looking tired and displeased.

"Houji, why the fuck...?" The woman trailed off, noticing Amon. "You... You're alive?"  
"Surprise?" Amon said weakly.  
"Where did you find him?" She demanded.  
"I don't know." Houji answered. "I didn't really find him either."  
"What do you mean you don't know?!" She exclaimed. "You found somebody who should be dead!"  
"I mean I literally don't know." He said.  
"What's wrong with his arm?" Take asked suddenly.  
"Oh, uh, it's refused to regenerate properly." Amon answered. "I'm not exactly a roaring success."  
"Regenerate?" Akira questioned.  
"Kanou." He said simply.  
Understanding dawned on her face. "Oh. Is there anyone else?"  
"I... There was a bit more than sixty of us." He told her. "Most of them are dead now. Only myself and –"  
"Houji-san, why do you smell so good?" Takizawa interrupted.

Houji blinked. The half-Ghoul was drowning in his clothes as expected and now that he wasn't caked in blood, he could see several jarring differences. Black nails and lips, tight skin, white hair... He didn't know how to feel about it. Takizawa was currently sniffing at the shirt's sleeves, looking rather pleased.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that." Houji replied.  
"Takizawa?" Akira asked quietly.  
Takizawa's head snapped towards her. "Mado. You called her?"  
"... Yeah." Houji admitted.  
"Fantastic." Takizawa said. "Can I eat her?"  
"What?" Akira asked sharply.  
"Well, I obviously can't eat Houji and I don't like how Arima and Hirako smell." He answered. "I suppose I could eat Amon but –"  
"Nobody's eating anyone." Houji cut him off.  
Takizawa whined, leaning against him. "But I'm hungry! Like, I could eat five people and still be hungry!"  
"Takizawa, you're just going to have to wait to eat." He said.  
"I don't want to." The half-Ghoul scowled.  
"Don't be a pain, Seidou." Amon chastised.  
"Says the guy who got fed adequately." Takizawa grumbled.  
"What?" Houji asked.  
"Aogiri didn't really feed him." Amon winced. "Something about making sure he's able to heal even without food."  
"Jesus." Akira muttered.  
"On that cheery note, Yoshitoki's here." Kishou said.

They all looked to the door to find Yoshitoki entering the building with Dr Shiba on his heels. The pair came over almost instantly.

"Let's get this sorted, shall we?" Yoshitoki asked, sounding grave.

Eto stared at the debris of walls of the two cells, shocked. This truly hadn't gone according to plan.

"Say, Eto, why do I smell Houji here?" Tatara asked from beside her, awfully quiet.  
"Well, I decided it'd be fun to torture Takizawa a little more psychologically." She answered. "Y'know, for training purposes… I figured it'd wreck him completely if he ate Houji without knowing that it was Houji then found out who it was."  
"So what you're saying is you tried to feed the mutt Houji – the man I want to kill with my own two hands – for your own entertainment?" He asked slowly.  
"Yeah, that about sums it up." She nodded, unbothered.  
"You did what?!" He exclaimed.  
"I tried to feed the dog Houji but it was clearly a poor decision." She shrugged.

It wasn't like he could beat her in a fight should it come to blows anyway. And three, two, one…

"And what if he had actually eaten Houji?! I'm only here to potentially roast him alive!" Tatara yelled.  
"Then we'd have a pliant little attack dog willing to do anything and everything for us because there'd be no reason for him to defect." Eto replied, amused. "Although this does seem like a poor outcome, I think it'll be interesting."  
"I would have walked if he had actually eaten him. You know that right?!" He hissed.  
"I'm aware." She said. "And quite frankly, it makes no difference to the plans the King and I have."

She leant back, dodging his fist, and quickly retaliated with her kagune, shoving it through his gut.

"Attack me again and you won't live to see tomorrow, Tata-chan." She smiled at him, aware she sounded pleasantly sweet. "We wouldn't want that now would we?"  
"You bitch." He growled.  
"Aww, thanks." She giggled.

Her kagune dissipated and she eyed the hole in his stomach. It wasn't healing as quickly as it could.

"You haven't eaten recently." She remarked.  
"Oh, don't worry. I'll have to rectify that now won't I?" He hissed.

She just grinned. Oh, how she loved messing with people. It was too rewarding to care about the consequences.

"I take it the dog wasn't essential to any of King's plans then?" He asked.  
"Depends on how you look at it." She shrugged. "But not really, no. We can always get Kanou to make another one just like him so –"

Her phone began to ring and her stomach dropped. It was most likely Kishou, the one person who could kill her at this stage. She grabbed it out and answered it, glancing at the ID.

"Morning, King." She greeted.  
"I am this close to coming over there and beating your arse." Kishou's wonderful voice replied. "What the fuck were you thinking?"  
"I was merely trying to break the dog more mentally." She told him. "I didn't realise he'd actually break out. He thought Houji was a hallucination at first… I take it the CCG knows Takizawa and Amon are alive then?"  
"Yes." He said. "Amon's been lucky enough to be deemed sane enough to rejoin the CCG – it's likely he'll be joining the Quinx Squad once it's formed due to his nature. Takizawa's being sent to Cochlea because he tried eating somebody."  
"So we just break him out. Problem solved." She replied.  
"What's going on?" Tatara asked.  
Eto put it on speaker. "Unless you're more pissed over me trying to make Houji Ghoul chow?"  
"That's exactly what I'm more pissed over." Kishou said. "Are you trying to get him killed?"  
"Yes." Tatara told him seriously.  
"Depends on my mood." She shrugged. "Why?"  
"Oh, for fuck's sake. You're lucky I need you." He sighed.  
She giggled. "Aww, love you too."  
"So, what's happening with the two escapees?" Tatara asked.  
"One's rejoining the CCG and the other's going to Cochlea." Kishou answered. "Take a wild guess which is which. And speaking of that, the higher ups are even more wary about this because RC Suppressants and other sedatives aren't working for reasons obvious to us. In other words, it'll be pretty much impossible to break him out while the CCG decides what to do with him because of where they're putting him."

She cursed softly. This wasn't how this was supposed to go, no matter how interesting the end results might be.


	3. Chapter 3

Owl gnawed on his fingers, hunger making his gut clench uncomfortably. He'd been promised food if he came along quietly so where was it? He didn't even know how long it had been but it had surely been longer than a few hours. He wanted food. He needed it. Eating his fingers wasn't filling him up and it was just making him desire a proper meal more. He wanted flesh now.

Unsurprisingly, trying to break the glass separating his cell from the room where Investigators could interrogate him safely – as if he actually knew something – didn't work. The seconds passed painfully slow – one, two, three, four – and turned into agonising minutes that became an hour and then another hour and why wasn't anyone coming to feed him?

He was starving.

"It's been two weeks since we started talking about this." Houji reminded them. "The decision is obvious."

"It's obvious that we need to put him out of his misery." Hachikawa said. "We can't reverse what Aogiri's done – you heard what Amon said. Just hearing about it is enough to give a weaker person nightmares."

"We're not killing him." Akira replied.

"Why the hell not?" Ui asked. "We're acting like he's the same person he was before Aogiri their hands on him. He's murdered already and attempted to do so since we got hold of him. Who's to say he won't try – and likely succeed – again? The CCG doesn't hire murderers."

"I guess that means I shouldn't be here, doesn't it?" Juuzou replied. "You're forgetting that I've murdered more people than I can remember. What makes Takizawa so different? Is it because he's a Ghoul now?"

"You were a child." Kuroiwa responded. "Takizawa's an adult."

"Who was tortured extensively for unknown reasons." Kishou said. "There's no reason we can't at least try to rehabilitate him."

Marude shook his head. "He'll try to eat whoever we saddle him with."

"He had every opportunity to eat me." Houji replied. "Shockingly enough, I'm still here. I'm more than willing to –"

"You're too emotionally invested." Ui interrupted. "It's clouding your judgement. Whatever happened to maintaining that professional distance?"

"Speaking of humans as food, has Takizawa been fed yet?" Houji asked, disregarding Ui's question entirely.

Yoshitoki swallowed. "Houji, you know we can't feed Ghouls before they've been in CCG custody for at least a month."

"That's not going to help us rehabilitate him." Amon said, finally speaking up. "If anything, it'll make him more likely to try and eat the next person he sees. The last time Aogiri fed him someone he ate was months ago."

"It doesn't matter." Marude replied. "He'll just have to wait."

"If I can go in there and get him to agree not to eat anybody without permission, will you agree that rehabilitation is possible?" Houji asked.

"That's a stupid idea." Kijima said. "He'll agree because it's you."

"He won't." Amon shook his head. "… Seidou somewhat blames Houji for what's happened to him. It's nowhere near as much as he blames Tatara but…"

"Why would he blame Houji?" Ui questioned. "That just sounds ridiculous."

"He was using one of Houji's quinques." Amon answered. "That was more than enough for Tatara to want to kill him. Hence, he partially blames Houji for his current state. He's not going to agree to not kill someone for food just because Houji asked nicely."

"If he's crazy enough to blame Houji then he's too crazy to be rehabilitated." Hachikawa argued.

"… It's probably not helping that he screamed for Houji in the first few months." Amon said hesitantly.

Houji's stomach dropped.

"I didn't want to say anything because –" Amon started.

"You don't need to protect my feelings or whatever it is." He interrupted. "I'm perfectly capable of dealing with such things."

He could feel Kishou and Take both eyeing him sceptically even if their faces didn't show it. They were right, of course. In his current mental state, there was no way he was going to deal with this – in a healthy manner, anyway.

"All of this just means that he won't agree to anything simply because it's me." He continued.

"We can try." Kishou said. "If we succeed, having another Ghoul could prove to be quite useful."

"Fine but if he eats any humans it's on your head, Houji." Yoshitoki sighed.

"Understood." He replied.

He was just glad that a decision had been made and that it meant the meeting was over. He could feel a headache coming on which meant he needed a drink. Yoshitoki dismissed everyone after a minute and he made the decision to try and retreat quickly.

Unfortunately, Kishou was quicker.

"Damn." He muttered.

"It was brave of you to attempt escape but you should have learnt by now that I am impossible to escape." Kishou said solemnly.

"So dramatic." Take remarked, starting to drag them both away. "Are you sure about this, Kousuke? Takizawa did not seem... well."

"Of course." He nodded. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"In any case, when was the last time you ate?" Kishou asked. "You're looking a bit ill."

"I..." He began then frowned. "Uh, no clue."

The reaper swatted him over the head. "Fuck, it's like taking care of a toddler. An overgrown, heavily alcoholic toddler."

"I drink to forget but I always remember." He said. "Speaking of which, I'm feeling wit-"

"It can wait." Take cut him off. "You gotta stop drinking if you're going to watch an insane Ghoul."

"He's not that bad." He frowned.

Kishou raised an eyebrow. "Sasaki's not that insane and he hears voices."

"You're biased because he's basically your son." He replied.

"You're biased because you're emotionally invested." Take pointed out.

"You're biased because you totally have a thing for Kishou." He countered, clutching at straws.

"Says you." The stoic man responded.

"Ladies, who _doesn't_ have a thing for me?" Kishou asked.

"Akira, Juuzou, Sasaki, Yoshitoki who's all starry eyed over Marude, Marude –" Houji began listing.

"I didn't want a list, Kousuke." Kishou cut him off.

"And I didn't want to learn that the small innocent child that was Takizawa is now something else entirely but I did. We don't always get what we want, Kishou." He deadpanned.

Amon joined them, frowning. "Houji, Seidou's twenty something. He's not a child."

A glance told him Akira and Juuzou were right beside him.

"He's twenty-three now, soon to be twenty-four." Houji informed him. "And I know he's not a child. It's just that he used to look like a cinnamon roll."

Amon's frowned deepened. "What does that even mean?"

"It means Takizawa used to look like an innocent, precious human to be protected at all costs." Akira explained. "God Amon, get with the times."

Amon sighed. "I should've just stayed in that cell."

It was cold. Cold, cold, cold, cold. It did nothing to dull the all-encompassing hunger that had him feeling like his body was trying to eat itself, the little of it that remained. Owl didn't doubt that it was. All the starvation at the hands of Aogiri either brought on by round the clock torture or withheld food had just led to his body eating away at him from the inside out until there was nothing left but skin and bone and his organs that were slowly being eaten away at too.

Not being fed didn't even keep it off for long. He needed to eat and eat and eat until he couldn't anymore and it felt like he was going to burst. It was how he'd managed to devour both his parents so thoughtlessly and quickly. He'd been so hungry and while now was nothing compared to back then it was coming close. When had he last eaten? Had his parents been his last meal?

Owl retched, nothing coming up despite his stomach churning violently. He needed to stop thinking about his parents. It wasn't something he needed to think about because it was said and done and _oh how delicious they'd tasted_. All he could remember was tearing into soft flesh and snapping delicate bones; the taste of his favourite foods when he'd been human, when he'd been _weak, pathetic Takizawa_; and then the horrified realisation of who he'd just consumed so ravenously as Eto – _who knew exactly how and where to poke at someone and it was so delightful_ – laughed and laughed.

His ears twitched and he looked to the door. He could hear someone – smell them too. Houji. He tilted his head. The man was here again which meant it'd been a few more days in this tiny little cell or so he thought. He wasn't sure how much time passed in between Houji's strange visits where _Takizawa's_ former superior would linger around outside his cell like he wanted to come in and speak to him except he never did and eventually left.

Owl knew that Amon – stupid, annoying Amon – thought that he blamed Houji for his current state. It was just so obvious. Amon wore his heart on his sleeve like a complete idiot who didn't realise what a foolish decision that was. He didn't blame Houji in the slightest. Not anymore, at least. It had been months since he'd thought that. Owl couldn't do it – not when Houji had been the only one to really understand _Takizawa_ and what little of him lingered couldn't let it go.

Houji was someone to protect now, he knew. If he could prevent Tatara from killing him, that would only make any revenge he took out on the Chinese Ghoul all the better. If he could kill Tatara with Houji still alive and right there, it would be the best revenge he could ever get because Tatara lived and breathed for his eventual revenge on Houji – Owl didn't think he'd manage it either way, not if Houji had the right quinque – and destroying it for him would be so, so _sweet_.

The door to the interrogation room opened and his gaze snapped over in time to see Houji walk in.

"Takizawa." The Investigator greeted, taking a seat.

Owl inclined his head, knowing he had to respond somehow. Let him think that he was still speaking to _Takizawa_. Amon who'd heard every scream and probably heard Eto's whispered words didn't even seem to realise that Seidou Takizawa was dead and had died long ago in that cell which Owl had swapped for another one – one that was admittedly a bit comfier but a cell nonetheless.

Houji's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, something he never would have caught before. He began gnawing on his fingers, trying to distract himself from the hunger.

"Or perhaps Takizawa is the incorrect word to call you?" Houji said questioningly.

"How do you figure?" He asked.

"You don't respond to it how you used to." A shrug of the shoulders. "Although, that may just be because nobody's called you Takizawa in over a year and Amon only calls you Seidou."

He bristled. "That idiot only calls me that because he thinks it'll get me to listen to him."

"Shall I call you Owl then?" Houji asked.

He eyed him warily. Did he say yes and risk Houji leaving him in this cell to starve? He knew that Houji was probably advocating for his release because he believed he could be helped. His former superior was naïve like that sometimes.

He nodded slowly. "Owl is good."

"Good to know." Houji said. "Now, if you were to be released, you wouldn't go about eating people, would you?"

Ah, so that was the game. The higher ups thought he'd eat the first person he saw and just keep going like some rabid Ghoul. Granted, he was one but he could play.

"Are Ghouls an exception to that?" Owl asked.

"Considering you already have a kakuja? Yes." Houji confirmed.

Damn Amon. He probably told them everything he knew.

"Then no, I wouldn't go around eating people left and right." He said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because your answer is the deciding factor on whether or not the CCG will accept you back into our ranks." Houji replied casually.

So Amon had imparted his belief that he blamed Houji at least in part. It explained why Houji was the one here to present this proposition. They thought he wouldn't agree just because it was Houji.

Idiots.

"So, when do I get out?" He asked. "This cell is awfully dull."


End file.
